Essential business hacks for every new entrepreneur

What drives people to an entrepreneurial lifestyle is the desire to build something great and change the game forever. At Tech Collective, we support the regional entrepreneurs, but also look to add value to them through our articles and platform.

Here are some business hacks for entrepreneurs to make their company the next unicorn in the region.

Online community help

The now old adage, ‘just Google it’, doesn’t seem to cut it when it comes to solving technology or specialised problems. At least not all the time, so there are several online communities you can tap into for advice, information and even post questions or problems that you face. Some of these groups include:

Be a great designer

I absolutely suck at design, but throughout my professional career, I’ve dealt with tight budgets and quick deadlines to learn enough to get by. Designing a simple flyer, social media images, and even videos can be done. You’re not going to get the same quality as you would with a professional designer, but it’ll do in a pinch.

Some great online resources include:

Canva, for simple design and a ton of free ready-made templates for social media posts and simple designs

Pexels is my go-to image library with thousands of free images for people to use

VSDC video editor has helped me make dozens of simple how-to videos for YouTube. Don’t expect high-def, but it works for the simple videos.

There are thousands of free tools online or they are very affordable, so we highly recommend looking for them online.

Free courses and educational material

A true entrepreneur never stops learning. At least that’s what I tell myself when I find I don’t know how to do something. However, there is a need to expand your learning beyond actual experience and dive back into the classroom… Sort of.

Online education is the easiest and (free) most affordable way to learn new skills or keep up-to-date with the latest advancements in technology and other industries.

Another great and free online resource is YouTube. I’ve learned more about digital marketing through YouTube than a thousand blogs.

Alternatively, if you’re a social media addict, there are some great Twitter accounts to follow, so I recommend looking out for influencers in your desired field and following them on Twitter.

Finding someone else to do it for you

Everything we shared earlier is a great way to cost-effectively manage as much as your business as possible. However, there are certain things you can’t do yourself, be it due to lack of skill in that field or pure opportunity cost.

The solution is outsourcing. Before you call me a sellout and scream about foreigners taking our jobs, let’s look at what outsourcing really is from a professional standpoint. It is the use of a professional service at a fixed cost to provide a valuable service to your business. You do not take on the risk of a full-time employee (or employees) and definitely do not have to handle the paperwork.

You can outsource through freelancers or even hire a whole team to manage and handle an entire department for you. Here are some examples:

Fiverr, this is basically a marketplace for freelancers and clients to connect and make magic happen. From design, writing, to digital marketing and programming. If your business needs it, Fiverr has someone who can do it.

Konsyg, your sales team on-the-go. If you’ve ever done sales for a B2B company, you know the stress of the industry. Konsyg promises to alleviate that stress and help your own sales team, while still selling your product or service.

Upwork, a competitor to Fiverr or a different marketplace altogether. Spoiler alert, its a competitor and quite popular as well. They are more corporate and business-focused than Fiverr.

These solutions may not be for everyone, but if you’re a new entrepreneur or looking to take that plunge, these are very useful tools.

To read about more business hacks and tools for businesses in Asia, check out our other articles.